Friday, October 5, 2007

to use when you send email to your friends utilizing the above image design

for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Click image for better view.

As most people know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it is a good time to address the importance of (BSE) Breast Self-Examination. It is widely known that early detection can save lives. One thing I have found astounding though, is that many women do not do regular self examinations. Now I am not sure of their reasons for this, but it is a relatively simple process. I have heard too that some women express the feeling that, "well breast cancer can never happen to me". The following is a link to an excellent 7 or 8 minute video on how to perform a BSE. It is very straightforward and will no doubt answer all of your questions about this very simple but important process.

For your free Outlook Express Stationery commemorating Breast Cancer Awareness Month click on the following link to download this stationery I made for you and save to your hard drive. All you need to do then is to open the file and it will open up in Outlook Express. When the e-mail opens just click "Forward" at the top and type your e-mail and VOILA! The stationery has a pretty pink textured background with the above image which I found on the Internet (Google Images) and I have included a quotation on the stationery by Christopher Reeve.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

My dear Friend Jana way up in British Columbia Canada tells me that it is already getting cold in North America and that there is snowfall on the mountains as well . When I hear of the cold setting in up there....so far from us down here in New Zealand I envision that Christmas and the holidays are just around the corner, which means I can almost smell the hearty aromas from Jana's famous 'Impossible Pies' and lovely warm muffins fresh out of the oven that must be such a great hit up her way during the colder times of the year.

Well it is a great time to start thinking ahead about your own personal upcoming Christmas baking, while at the same time you might like to think about some 'Gifts In A Jar' as Christmas gifts for your family and friends. A 'Gift In A Jar' is the perfect and inexpensive gift for anyone, and a cinch to put together. With a fancy little jar wrapping and gift card or label that you can print on your computer printer it awakens the true sense of the holidays in any home.

Today's holiday share is a recipe for a "Gift In A Jar' which I found last year, and I am including the template for printing this darling gift card with the actual recipe right on it.

Here it is!

Spicy Ginger Cookies

You need a mason jar with lid and rings for one Gift in a jar.

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup molasses

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

vanilla

Keep in mind that the molasses, butter or shortening , eggs and vanilla are the only ingredients that will not be added to this gift jar. The recipient of this gift will have to add those to the recipe when they are making it.

Instructions For Items In The Jar

Combine flour, spices, salt, and baking soda - stir well. Place flour mixture in a clean mason jar. Pack down tight so everything will fit in the jar. (Use a spoon or a mallet.) Add other ingredients, one item at a time. Pack down tight so everything will fit in the jar. (Use a spoon or a mallet.)

Print a copy of a gift card with recipe instructions.

Trim all white areas, fold and punch a hole in the upper left corner; attach to ribbon.

Optional:

As an added touch top the jar with fabric circle, and tie the card around the ring. You can even tie a wooden spoon to the lid with a piece of ribbon for a charming effect.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

One of the great puzzles of human nature is why humans strive for more material things — money, jobs, homes, cars, flat-screen televisions — when they do not seem to make them any happier in the long run.Philosophers have pondered this conundrum for centuries, and modern economists have been examining it over several decades in a multitude of cultures. Not only does greater wealth not guarantee happiness — even when you get what you want — research indicates that you will not find it as satisfying as you had hoped, and you will want something else.Richard A. Easterlin, professor of economics at the University of Southern California, is a seminal researcher in this area. In effect, his work shows that if you think buying a three-bedroom condo and a Honda Element will make you happy, you had better think twice. In a few years, a) you're not likely to report being any happier, and b) you're likely to say that, now, finding a good private school for your children and buying a vacation home will really make you happy.In Dr. Easterlin's view, this cycle of desire and dissatisfaction tends to keep people on an endless treadmill. This may sound self-defeating, but that is Dr. Easterlin's point. Why not get off the treadmill and pursue a life with fewer material ambitions? You would probably be happier.Or would you? If material achievements tend to leave people only momentarily fulfilled, why do so many keep reaching for that next goal?Claudia Senik, professor of economics at the Sorbonne, believes that the struggle for a certain achievement may offer a peculiar reward all its own. Although many people seem quite goal-oriented — especially when it comes to money, homes, cars, new kitchens and other goods that have become stand-ins for status — maybe it's not so much having the stuff that people really enjoy, but the struggle to obtain it.In an unpublished paper called "Is Man Doomed to Progress?" which she presented at a symposium, "Economics and Happiness," last month at U.S.C., Dr. Senik examined the impact of anticipating future gains on a person's current level of well-being.Researchers have noted that, for example, given the opportunity to schedule a fancy meal, many people tend to postpone the feast — to savor the anticipation of it. In fact, Dr. Senik found that when people aspire to a better quality of life within the next 12 months, the attempt to reach that goal alone — the anticipation independent of the outcome — seems to bestow happiness in the present."For the basic person there is pleasure in progress," Dr. Senik said. "We are proud to aim at something — to earn a degree, buy a house. So when I work to reach a higher position or earn a higher income, I'm already happy today."Dr. Senik compares it somewhat humorously to being invited to a fabulous party. "Once you get there, maybe you enjoy the party or maybe you don't — but that doesn't matter because you've already spent the last few days looking forward to it."Of course, that is not how most people view the quest for a better job, nicer car or bigger home. The glory is in getting what you want. Yet we have all experienced the phenomenon — behavioral economists call it adaptation — whereby once you attain whatever you most covet, it quickly loses its luster. Dr. Senik's research suggests that it's fine to crave the condo and the car as long as you realize there may be more pleasure in striving for those goals than in actually achieving them.I find this oddly comforting, because like many people I am well acquainted with materialistic treadmills, and they are exhausting. You can feel like Sisyphus, pushing a boulder uphill over and over again to get the things you want.It may seem that people are all hapless consumers, at the mercy of greed and needs (or cursed by Zeus). But Dr. Senik offers a more positive view. You can let go of the rather iffy rewards of getting and spending, and look for everyday pleasure while struggling to advance, improve, progress, achieve and attain.As Dr. Easterlin said, "If you recognize that the striving can be of value in itself, then instead of taking a job that pays you the most, you may be better off taking work you'll enjoy." In other words, choose your treadmills carefully. Like Sisyphus, they're where most of us will spend our time.